Ames Pond—A Stoughton Summer Treasure for all Ages

Not only does Stoughton’s provide a scenic view and fishing hole, it provides fantastic family programs and history. 

Each year the Stoughton Recreation Department offers swim lessons at the pond.  Each session is two weeks in duration and parents like Laura Mone rave about its quality saying, “My family has been going to the pond since 1999 and all four of my children have taken swim lessons there, and only there.”

In fact, Mone goes on to explain that her oldest son, “Robert was the first kid at his summer camp to be able to swim a mile and another son of mine swam on the Stoughton Swim Team. I attribute their abilities to the lessons at the pond.”

Mone said she felt it was underutilized and it was obviously a great resource for kids and families.

Ames Pond is a wealth of generational history, as a visit on any given day would prove.  Even John Denison began with the recreation department as a lifeguard long before becoming the department’s director. 

The common thread shared between the majority of pond-goers are the swim lessons. 

Residents raved about how they or their children enjoyed a strong kinship with the other pond-goers who have taken part in the swim lesson program.

Danielle Doherty, Amanda Doherty and Ashlee Jordan are no exception, having met in 2001 in their beginner swim class.  Even while attending different elementary schools, they always looked forward to summer, when swim classes would begin again.

Continuing with swim classes, and now as members of the pond’s swim team, they have developed an even larger group of pond pals. They meet daily, hang out and then participate in the free swim team that Ames Pond offers. 

The group has grown to eight (six from Stoughton and two from Randolph), all bonded by summer memories and swimming. 

The girls joke about how close they have all become saying, “Our families are now to the point that we get together for dinners and parties. It’s pretty wild.”

The reflections of both Laura Mone and Danielle Doherty speak volumes. Residents must admit that it is pretty wild that such a great Stoughton resource isn’t utilized more. 

Now that August has begun, families may be growing tired of the same old summer routine, perhaps now it the most opportune time to check out Stoughton’s waterfront for yourself.

Day passes range from $1 to $3 for Stoughton residents and from $3 to $6 for non-residents. are on duty at the pond from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. until August 14.

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Ames Pond’s Direct Website - http://www.stoughton.org/Recreation/AmesPond

Directions to Ames Pond (As received from the Recreation Department):

From Stoughton Center take Rte. 138 to Town Spa Pizza and take a right onto Plain St.  Follow Plain St. until you come to the second intersection, West St. take a left and follow it all the way to Ames Pond.  At the end of the causeway take a left at the stop sign (Highland St.) and it is on the left.